Author: Yvonne Chan

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All about Europe

The wonderful librarians  at Intute found two new online documents – both covering the EU.

1) Financial Management in the European Union is a report that was published by the UK House of Commons Public Accounts Committee  with the aim of assessing “the financial management and performance of the EU.  It covers efficiency, anti-fraud measures in EU accounting and future reforms required.”

Excerpts from the Conclusions and Recommendations:

  • “There remains an unacceptably high level of error in some key budget areas and consequently, for the fourteenth successive year, the European Court of Auditors has not provided a positive overall Statement of Assurance on the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.”
  • “In 2005, we highlighted the inherent complexity of some European programmes as a major factor leading to error, but this complexity persists, as do the resultant errors.”
  • “Ongoing problems with controls over Cohesion policy expenditure are, in effect, condemning the European Union accounts to qualification for many years to come.”

Yikes! There’s loads more so if you are interested in accountability, public spending, fraud and the EU you know where to go!

2) ESF Demography Report 2008. This is a free report that is published by the European Commission every two years.  “The 2008 version reports on the aging society and changing family and households in EU countries….(and focuses on) fertility rates, life expectancy, migration, marriage and composition of households.”

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New Database Trial

We’ve been lucky enough to get a 30 day trial to the IMF e-library which “contains publications from recent years as well as statistical resources: Balance of Payments, Direction of Trade, Government Finance Statistics, and International Financial Statistics.”  The trial expires July 22nd.  Please check it out and fill out the feedback form to let us know what you think.

Meanwhile, the IMF’s International Statistics are available via cd-rom at call no.: HG1 .I55 CD-ROM.  Note, this cd is mounted on the Data Services website and is limited to current UBC students, faculty & staff members.

You can also check out the print copies of the International Financial Statistics Yearbook at call no.: HG1 .I552

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International Demography stats from US Census Bureau

It’s always exciting to discover a reliable source of international statistics!  The US Census bureau has a great database of demographic indicators for “countries and areas of the world with a population of 5,000 or more.”  Indicators are:

  • Birth, death, and growth rates, migration rates, infant mortality, and life expectancy
  • Fertility rates
  • Total population and population by age and sex

And, always vital when dealing with sources of international statistics – the Census Bureau evaluate national census/survey results and accurately date them to ensure consistent  data across countries.   Data is currently available in table format; after July 1, 2009 you can also generate “population pyramids!”

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Canada Gazette – Digitization project

This isn’t exactly news, since this project began in 2007, but it was news to me!  According to a statement on the Gazette website “the Canada Gazette Directorate is working in partnership with LAC to digitize all issues dating from 1841 to 1997, so as to make them accessible to the public.”

The project is slated to be completed at the end of 2009, so not all the issues from this time range are available yet.  When the website was launched in May 2008,  only 30% of the collection had been digitized.  Presumably at this late date, the project is much further along….  In any event, the collection digitized thus far is available for keyword searching at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/canada-gazette/index-e.html

Issues from 1997 to present are available on the Canada Gazette website at: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/index-eng.html

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Crushing Statistics – StatsCan

Hmmm… let’s file this under “learn something new.” I must admit when I read this headline in StatsCan’s  The Daily, I was expecting to read an abstract about workplace safety or to find some sort of accident statistics table at the very least.  Not so.  Crushing in this circumstance refers to the amount of oilseeds crushed by canola producers in Canada – 320,201 metric tonnes in May 2009.

This oilseed data appears in the free monthly publication, Cereals and Oilseeds Review (22-007-X) along with “grain marketing data and commentary on the major Canadian grains and their products, exports and imports, cash and futures prices and domestic use data.  A monthly situation report provides industry highlights. Each issue is an up-to-date source of information for grain analysts, traders, agri-business and the farm community”   Note, the Review is usually available 2 months after its issue date. 

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US Budget 2010

GPO Access has just posted the official PDF version of the 2010 Budget of the United States Government on its site.  The Budget “is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President’s budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year.”  The budget document is browsable by chapter and also includes some statistical tables in excel  spreadsheet format.

FYI, budgets from 1996 onwards are also available on site.

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GPO Access Content Migration

GPO Access is in the process of moving information into a new database: Federal Digital System (FDsys).  Some collections are no longer available in GPO Access, one is available  in both and the rest are set to be moved into FDsys by the end of 2009.

According to the GPO FDsys “is an advanced digital system that will enable GPO to manage Government information from all three branches of the U.S. Government.”

For a complete list of collections that have made the move to FDsys (and are no longer findable in GPO Access) see: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

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New Treaty Database from the UN

The UN recently put up a database of Diplomatic Conferences which will provide the searcher with access to documents/background information on the negotiation of 12  international treaties.  The oldest conference contained in the database is the Law of the Sea, 1958 and the most recent is Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, 1998.  Other conference topics include treaties between IGOs, consular relations and succession of states.  Note, this database is only available from the United Nations Diplomatic Conferences website – mysteriously, no links to it are available from the UN Treaties site…. 😉

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US Govt Accountability Office (GAO)

Thanks to our fellow govpubs  bloggers at the University of Colorado, I’ve discovered a great website for anyone looking into current events south of the border.  The GAO “is known as ‘the investigative arm of Congress’ and ‘the congressional watchdog.’  GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.”

  • The site provides links to full-text versions of various relevant government manuals, such as the auditing standards, internal controls standards and Federal appropriations law manuals.
  • Also has a vast array of GAO reports and testimonies on topics such as Federal bankruptcy judges, influenza pandemic, veterans affairs, taxation, public housing, telecommunications, health care, climate change and terrorism.
  • Only the most recent reports are available through the “reports & testimonies” page.
  • Use the “topics collections” tab to browse older reports by subject.  Site also provides GAO legal decisions and testimonies from its Comptroller General.
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Terrorism Legislation Database from the UN

The United Nations Office for Drug & Crime (UNODC) has just created a database containing “counter-terrorism conventions, national criminal laws and case laws relevant to terrorism. ”

From the site’s homepage:

“This site aims to provide comprehensive and accurate legal information on the steps taken by the international community and individual countries in the fight against international terrorism.

Stored data are accessible in full-text, and provide up-to-date information on counter-terrorism conventions, resolutions, and national criminal laws worldwide.

Model laws, legislative guides, and other legal tools can also be accessed to assist national authorities in setting up the structures and adopting the legislation necessarry to implement  the global legal framework against terrorism.”

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